Former Republican senator, Chuck Hagel, is expected to be nominated as the next U.S. Secretary of Defense — though skeptics may want to test his willingness to become Secretary of Attack, as in: “Can you confirm that you will support military action against Iran when it becomes clear that that is necessary?” asks Senator X (any Republican will do) during Hagel’s confirmation hearings.
Max Fisher reports that Hagel’s statements thus far have left room for doubt — he apparently has never been heard singing John McCain’s old tune, “bomb, bomb, Iran.”
Mondoweiss: Hagel is a realist who has repeatedly bucked the neoconservatives (and as Eli Lake and Steve Walt say below, the Israel lobby is gearing up to try and do to him what it did to Chas Freeman 4 years ago). The Emergency Committee for Israel (ECI), for instance, is already gearing up to battle Obama over Hagel.
Yesterday, ECI’s Noah Pollak tweeted out one reason (among many) for why he’s so averse to Hagel: he is chairman of the Atlantic Council, a mainstream think tank. The Atlantic Council has posted a piece by a member of the council titled “Israel’s Apartheid Policy.”
Here are some more reasons for why the neoconservatives are coming out swinging against Hagel:
In November 2010, Hagel led a forum on the Iran issue at the Atlantic Council, which he chairs. His comments make clear that he would never go to war with Iran, and the idea that all options must be on the table is one that he specifically rejects.
He says that only in an Alice in Wonderland world would we go to war with Iran. [Continue reading…]
The U.S.Military might be the mightiest the world has ever seen, but can’t seem to win a war today. With all the turnover in the general ranks, it seems prudent to have a though house cleaning, starting at the top. Another little item, retirement pensions, age 65, just like everyone else. Then they really have some skin in the game.